Kimball does a good job of grappling with the way the church is percieved in culture. Too often, he is overly apologetic for the things he says, which quite often are not as biting as the apology makes them seem. For example, he profusely apologizes for calling pastors, "weaklings." I wouldn't think to apologize for this and would probably choose a more colorful vocabulary to describe these guys. Sometimes it is the thing to do to grab someone's attention. Paul did this in his letter to the Galatian false teachers (i.e. consider Gal. 5:12, "I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!").
The book does what it sets out to do, which is to explore and expose how people feel about Jesus and the Church. People are oftened turned off to methods used in the church rather than the Gospel. A lot of guys get excited about this as a sort of freedom to radically change methods in the church. Unfortunately, the result is a lot of guys motivated by methods and new ways of doing church trying to start new congregations. The problem is that when our motivation to start a church is anything besides the Gospel and the glorification of Jesus Christ, we are actually starting immature religious clubs at best and cults at worst.
The answer to our culture's criticism of methods and culture is to measure it against the truth of the Gospel. Some things that are done in the name of Jesus are no longer culturally relevant and even offensive, but because they are NOT intrinsicly tied to the Gospel, we can change those methods. An example of this would be door to door sales (I mean visitation). In generations past, it was an effective way of disseminating the Gospel story to a culture that by and large recieved it. No longer is this method effective in all cultural situations. Our calling is to prayerfully reflect on new ways of pointing out man's greatest need; a right relationship with God through the death and resurrection of our sinless Savior Jesus.
When we celebrate our style or method of doing this, we celebrate something other than Gospel transformation and we dishonor God. This could be the celebration of old methods or new. If your congregation gets really excited about the rockin' music or the casual atmosphere or the bible version you use or anything other than the risen and ruling Christ, you may be a part of a religious club, and not a church. You may be an offense to God and not the aroma of Christ to a dark and dead culture. Our desire at Missio Dei Church is to be a people called out of culture that lives and proclaims the good news of a restored relationship to God and each other to our city. So much more could be said, but that's all for now.
5 comments:
Very well said, Kurt. I will have to get my hands on that book.
You make a great point about "clubs" developed around "things" other than the Gospel. Acts 9:31 provides the example of the early church that through "walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied."
I love it Kurt... largely because I love Jesus but am becoming tired of the church. You are very gospel centered.
Only one of your phrases, made me want to ask for clarification... "a people called out of culture".
I don't think you mean a people called to separate from culture like the Essenes or the Amish... who consider culture evil and there.
But I'm hoping you mean more "a people called from the culture to live within the cultural as a counter-cultural." Is that it?
If so... how are you doing that? Maybe that is a topic for another post.
I think "a people called out of culture" is a poor way of stating it. I am still wrestling through this. Partly because the error I am seeing in the emerging church of valuing the culture of postmodernism, perhaps I am overreacting in my statement.
There are, I think, many ways of living out Jesus within a postmodern context and not all involve valuing postmodernism. We need to live within culture, celebrate Gospel values, but also live outside of culture, as a corrective of anti-Gospel values. In other words, as you stated rightly, "a people called from the culture to live within the culture as a counter-culture."
I am praying for you as you struggle through being tired of the church. I spent a few years kinda beat down in that state and I know intimately the "dark night of the soul" that accompanies the struggle. But God has promised that he would use His Church to reveal Himself to the world, so I won't give up on my "mother" even though she may become a whore after other gods (which are not gods) and abandon me.
"Reactive ministry" is dangerous, and can often start so subtly. Check out my post regarding the issue as well. Keep up the good work, friend!
Kurt - Really enjoyed this post. I could not agree with you more on the topic of "visitation" being outdated and no longer effective.
Living within the culture as a counter-culture - that phrase will haunt me for days to come. I *really* like that.
-LAQ
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